


Because we do not smile under our masks

by Halcyonranhuer



Series: Red and Blue doesn't always mean purple [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Langst, Swearing, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-23 02:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10709958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halcyonranhuer/pseuds/Halcyonranhuer
Summary: Lance and the Red Lion bonds further.Chap 2: Hunk then talks to Lance about the following events.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There is vulgarity. Please take heed.

They were surging through space and crashing into _every_ enemy Galra ship in their way.

Keith was screaming something unintelligible through the receiver but Lance couldn’t hear anything over the buzzing in his helmet, which echoed in his brains. At the very least, he knew Keith was fuming. That guy was yelling his voice hoarse- “Lance! Lance! Damn you!”- some words he made out, more or less. It didn’t matter. He got Keith’s point anyway. Though, he could not do jack shit about it. 

Honestly, how did it come to this in the first place?

Was it the established bond problem between Paladin and Lion again? If that was the case, usually the Lions would not work. However this time, Red was dashing madly like some uncontrolled race car that smashed out of the rings and posing hazardous.

More importantly, didn’t Red and he had a heart-to-heart talk just three days prior? It obviously seemed like he was the only one who thought that they had grown closer. If not for the fact that he was probably (very likely) going to die, he would then have died of humiliation from ‘bragging’ how he managed to get into contact with Keith’s ex-Lion.

After all, this looked as if whatever happened three days ago was just a fairy-tale fantasy made up by his exhausted and delusional mind.

The Lion was swerving around madly by himself, cutting corners and barely dodging scorching laser beams. It had literally nothing to do with Lance’s piloting skills-the ex-Blue Paladin couldn’t even get the Lion to stop, much less controlled it.

“I thought we bonded!” He screamed over the controls as Red did another nosedive. Was it because there was not enough food involved in the session? Momma said that food was very important for the first impression. Lance then momentarily thought that all the pressure, strain and fear had collapsed a part of his mind. He then thought he would have grown mad by the time the war ended- if it ever ended at all.

Unless a person was dumb, deaf, blind (all three handicaps together) and repeat, fucking dumb, they would note that they were in the middle of the biggest fight Voltron had ever engaged in since Shiro’s sudden disappearance. The Galra’s middle battle-class spaceships that fired one-hit killing lasers somewhat defined the borders of the battlefield as many more smaller space-fighters came attacking the Lions separately. Not to mention that they had also included floating space mines. Basically, it was a death zone.

(There was nothing ‘risky’ about this mission, Allura. You mean, it’s going to death personally and shoving a birdy in its face while pulling down your pants.)

Yes, Lance was directly indicating that Red was dumb, deaf and blind for the matter.

Or a better word, uncooperative (and fucking dumb).   

He did not understand why Red had to throw his pissy fits now. Feeling a surge of anger, Lance then grabbed the steering controls which was no doubt, jammed and started shaking them hard.

“Look, I don’t want to drag anyone down here! You almost killed Pidge when she had to stand in the range of the sniper because you were flying right through there!” He seethed. 

Of course, Red didn’t listen. No one listened to him anyway.

He gritted his teeth. Everyone was doing so well with their Lions except him. He knew he was causing more trouble than he was worth and-

Oh.

With that, Lance kicked the controls. Hard.

“Are you so jealous of Keith just syncing with Black as if they were _naturally meant to be together_?” Immediately, Red came to a slow halt. Lance grinned- Bingo- after all, this was the first time Red had seen Keith piloting Black in a battle. He was jealous. 

“Then shouldn’t- no. Don’t we have the obligation to do better than them?” Lance said. There was a buzz running through his head, a seemingly sheepish reply and suddenly, Lance could feel the controls being shifted over to him.

“Thanks. That’s more like it.” Lance chuckled and then released fire on the Galra space-fighters who had caught up to them from behind. _Burn, you sorry suckers_. He thought he heard Red muttering at the back of his head.

Indeed. If they were better as a team, it seemed more legit to punch Keith in the face when the time came.

* * *

“What. Was. That? Out there.” Lance could have sworn Keith was just this close to throwing his helmet in his face. Somehow, they managed to form Voltron and escaped from the Galra during the last few moments before the Castle’s shield went completely down.

He briefly scanned the faces in the boarding deck. Oh, they were _so_ not happy at all. Just the look in Allura’s eyes could have frozen the Altean sea (and Coran did mention it was below the temperature of liquid nitrogen), Hunk had a worried expression etched on his face and Pidge closed her eyes as if she was entirely done with the world (that one face she often gave to the instructors at Garrison when they told her off for some trivial matters).

He had really wanted to protest, yell out that it wasn’t either of their faults- the tension had been built too high in Red- that they were both in a very hard position and going through a very rough time. But he didn’t. He was exhausted.

“Red had a bad fur day.” Lance dumbly replied instead. Really, he was just so tired. Too tired to say anything in their defence.

Immediately, he then felt a knuckle digging straight into the flesh of his left cheek.

No one said anything afterwards.

As Lance sat on the deck at night nursing his bruised cheek, ice pack constantly pressed on it, he looked at Red and sighed. “Now, you bastard. See what you’ve done here. I lost a hundred points of trust and friendship thanks to you.”

There was something about this connection he could not explain. While he rarely swore at Blue, Red made it seem perfectly fine to be as crude with his words as possible. He felt wilder each time he piloted him, like the currents of a whirlpool, spiralling madly without control.

He thought that Red wouldn’t reply. As temperamental it was, it was also often quiet. However much to his surprise, the hatch of the Lion flipped opened as if beckoning him to come in. Lance took this opportunity to sling into the pilot’s seat.

Red snorted and Lance laughed, despite the stinging on his cheeks.

Whose fault was it? Whose fault was it? He couldn’t blame anyone in the castle. He couldn’t blame Shiro. He couldn't afford to point fingers to lower the morale any further. He could blame the Galra, but it would not help in his position.

 He could blame his own helplessness however.

So, Lance sat and laughed.


	2. Words with no actions are the most reassuring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk talks to Lance.

Hunk came by the next morning- which was to say most surprising- in fact, Lance thought he had lost his best friend’s trust by now with all the shenanigans he had been pulling with Red. He did threaten a Paladin’s life out there.

“Hey um.” Hunk slumped at the doorway to his room, big hand rubbing the back of his head sheepishly because most probably he had no idea what to say. Lance didn’t mind. He would prefer if Hunk had no words for him. After all, he had a hunch that Allura was just calming herself down these past few days to possibly avoid physical confrontation when she had to talk to him.

Jolly boy, she would have so much words for him then.

Honestly, Lance would think that Coran would come to him first during cleaning periods or some other. He sometimes thought that he related better to the older Altean instead of Hunk, because Lance could see it- the loneliness, sadness and anguish- in his eyes that Coran truly had missed Altea very much, just like how Lance missed Earth.   

Oh yeah, but he did endanger Allura out there- Coran’s only living relation to home. If that was the case, he doubted he could strike a conversation with him any time soon.

“Is everything alright?” Hunk finally said after a while, breaking the silence, tapping his two index fingers together.

“Well save for a few potential loose teeth and my beautiful face done in, I’d say I am fine.” Lance chuckled coolly. “Come on in, big guy.”

Hunk promptly settled himself on the chair near the desk. His eyes wandered around frantically, before trailing back to Lance’s searching ones.  

“No, I mean- like I know everyone’s been tired about Shiro. Keith too. Pidge. Allura. Coran. Everyone basically.” He then exhaled loudly and breathed in deeply again. Lance was watching him intently, blue orbs fixed upon his nervous gazes. “What I really mean is I know it wasn’t you out there that day, is everything going alright with Red?”

Lance paused.

Was everything alright?

 _Yes, everything was fine_. He reconciled with Red or at least, he thought he did. It should be right **this** time.

“Yeah. Red just went a little bonkers out there.” Lance managed a smile, but his cheek hurt too much to give a full grin. _But I guess it was because it was me and not Keith._ “I guess we are all better now.”

“Really?” Hunk sighed, something akin to relief. He patted Lance’s shoulder. “You know, you can tell me if anything is going on.”  

Lance tried to smile wider- he really did- but the healing skin was tight and the cuts in his mouth started to tear open again. “Yes.” He croaked, but the voice came out normal- like how he usually quipped. 

Hunk then looked down as if he wanted add something else. There was silence in between them again. Lance really didn’t know what to say. Heck, he didn’t even know what do about Hunk’s hand on his shoulder. Frankly, he felt awkward. 

“Uh Keith?”

“Oh yeah, that jerkass?” Lance immediately replied.

Hunk chuckled a little before continuing. “Keith’s not bad, you know. Just really stressed about being leader and all. He’s trying.”

Lance had his lips slightly apart. Of course, he didn’t say anything. He just looked on blankly.

_I’m trying too-_

“I know you’re trying too.” Hunk gave him a small smile and squeezed him lightly on the shoulder. Muscles tensing, Lance then stiffened up considerably. Thankfully, Hunk had retracted his hand away then.

“If you need me, I am always just across the hallways. You know that.” Hunk laughed or he made it as natural as he could, as he headed out of the room. “Gotta help Pidge now.”

The automatic doors slammed shut and Lance was left with the four walls and the deep, deep silence that resounded off them. 

“I know you’re trying too.” He whispered softly, nose stinging and tears that weren’t there, were there dancing at the brim of his eyes. “I know you’re trying too. I know you’re trying too.”

He said it again and again, between grins and dripping snots.

It was comforting to say the very least.

That one statement, he’d hold on to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I didn't know where to add this, it was too short but I wanted some relief-.... ... kinda... for Lance. Yes and he blames himself for Red's misconduct- he thinks he is not cut out to be a paladin.   
> Lance poured his insecurities to Red because he didn't think that Red was listening to him, plus Lance had literally immersed himself in there for a few days. You know a person usually slowly settle down in an environment- usually walks- for a bit before pouring their hearts out. 
> 
> People, we all need to appreciate the Hunk-Keith bro-ment more. Everyone needs a damn hug.

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, Lance hasn't relieved his insecurities but it grows instead. He believes he can deck it out somehow with Red.  
> I feel that every connection should be vastly different with each Paladin, due to the Lion's personalities. Hence, Lance is more fiery and prone to swear more..? He's still the same inside however. 
> 
> Keith needs a hug too.


End file.
